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America's high-tech industry is looking at the presumptive U.S. presidential candidates and their priorities concerning semiconductors. The Biden administration last week announced a major investment in the industry. VOA's Carolyn Presutti reports.

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.

GENEVA — Changes are being urged to plans for returning thousands of Afghan citizens from Pakistan to make the process more effective.  While Pakistan has delayed the expulsion of some 850,000 documented Afghan refugees to Afghanistan, a senior Red Cross official is appealing for the returns to occur "in a more staggered way" so Afghanistan can better absorb the enormous influx of people.  "It will be important to work with the government of Pakistan in 2024 to ask that if there are going to be returnees," that they arrive "in smaller numbers at a time just so it is more manageable on the Afghan side," said Alexander Matheou, regional director, Asia Pacific Region for the International Federation of the Red Cross.    Speaking in the Qatari capital, Doha, Matheou told journalists in Geneva on Friday that he had just concluded his fifth visit to Afghanistan since the autumn of 2021, shortly after the Taliban takeover of the country.  He said the challenges facing Afghan returnees from Pakistan was one of several pressing issues he discussed with de facto Taliban rulers.    "You will be aware that over half a million have crossed the border over recent months, and it is likely that we will see large numbers of new arrivals in the coming months," he said. "I imagine this is probably the largest population flow in a short period of time in Asia since the population movement from Myanmar into Bangladesh in 2017," he added. "So, it is a significant event." Returnees ill-equipped to start over Since October, Pakistan has expelled more than 500,000 Afghan refugees who lacked proper documentation. In a second phase of expulsions, which has been temporarily halted, more than 850,000 Afghans holding identification cards issued by the Pakistani government are slated to be forcibly deported.  Matheou notes many of the returnees have lived in Pakistan for decades and are ill-equipped to begin a new life in a country that to them is unknown, without government or international support.  The humanitarian effort is, he said, " largely concentrated on trying to help people on arrival at transit stations near the border. He added that the real challenges start once people move away from those transit areas.     "When we interviewed the returnees themselves, it was also clear that most had no idea how they were going to settle in their point of destination or how they were going to build a livelihood with nothing," he said. "They largely expected to be living with distant relatives, which would actually make very, very poor people some of the poorest communities in the world, even poorer."  Children make up half of returning Afghans Matheou described the returnees as being in generally poor health, especially the children, who account for nearly half of all returnees.    "The evidence of that was we visited clinics where they reported a real spike in cases of acute malnutrition coming from the arrivals from Pakistan.    "We visited routine immunization programs of the IFRC and the Afghan Red Crescent in the villages, and there it was clear looking at the children that as well as being anemic, you could see wasting and stunting among the children," he said.     Wasting in a child is a condition that increases the risk of death and requires intensive treatment and care.  While Afghanistan is a country with multiple challenges, Matheou said there have been a few positive changes since the Taliban came to power.    "There are still plenty of security incidents going on in Afghanistan every day or most days, but the security on the whole is better than it has been for decades, and on the surface it is peaceful, and this is clearly deeply welcomed by a war-ravaged population," he said, noting there is also a welcomed commitment to reduce theft and corruption.  Human rights crises remain  While security has improved, however, he said the country's humanitarian and human rights crises remains severe. That is most clearly manifested in the mental health crisis afflicting the population.  "Beneath those crises, there is an invisible crisis of hopelessness, depression, desperation that stem from a collapsing health service, mass unemployment, barriers to education, and frustrated boys, girls, men, and women who are stuck at home all day.    He said the IFRC has a staff in two to three of the provinces of Afghanistan, but the work of ministering to the physical and mental health needs of the population was done primarily through the Afghan Red Crescent.    Despite the Taliban ban on women's participation in work and education, he said, "We try to ensure that our work is gender balanced. We employ women in all our health, mental health, primary health services, as well as services for women-headed households."    He warned, though, the outlook for Afghanistan is bleak. If the Taliban does not change its discriminatory policies against women, he said it will be difficult to get the kind of funding needed to turn Afghanistan into an economically viable society.  "The future of where the next generation of doctors and nurses will come from, where the next generation of teachers will come from, and where employment generated for families to be economically independent and hopeful about the future is looking quite grim," he said. 

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brighton, colorado — Republican activists gathered in a school lunchroom last month to hear political pitches from candidates and agreed on the top issue in the Denver suburbs these days: immigration. The area has been disrupted by the arrival of largely Venezuelan migrants coming north through Mexico, they said. Virtually everyone in the meeting said they were uncomfortable with the new population, which has overwhelmed public services and become a flashpoint in local and national elections.  “We’ve lived here our whole lives, and now we have to pay for hotels and debit cards and health care” for the migrants, through government spending, said Toni Starner, a marketing consultant. “My daughter’s 22 and she can’t even afford to buy a house.”  Some 1,200 miles to the south, migrants are also transforming the prosperous industrial city of Monterrey, Mexico. Haitian migrants speak Creole on downtown streets and Central American migrants ask motorists for help at intersections.  But the new arrivals aren’t even part of Mexico’s political conversation as the country gears up for its presidential vote on June 2.  “If it were a problem, the politicians would already be mentioning it in their campaigns,” said Ingrid Morales, a 66-year-old retired academic who lives on Monterrey’s south side.  Parallel presidential elections Every 12 years, the coincidence of presidential elections in the U.S. and Mexico provides a valuable comparative snapshot. The different ways migration is resonating in the two countries’ elections this year reflects the neighbors' very different styles of democracy.  Mexican politics are still dominated by institutional political parties, while Donald Trump disrupted the United States’ two-party system with his more populist approach and moved anti-immigration sentiment to center stage in U.S. politics.  Mexican politics also revolve more around “bread-and-butter” issues such as the economy than in the wealthier United States, which is increasingly consumed with questions of national identity, said Andrew Selee, president of the Migration Policy Institute.  What’s more, just about every Mexican family has an immediate experience with migration, with many still having relatives living in other countries. While migrants must travel through Mexico to enter the U.S., they are more dispersed as they travel and have not generated similar scenes of an overwhelmed Mexican side of the border.  “In Mexico, there isn’t that same perception of chaos,” Selee said.  Migration is major campaign issue in US Trump is making that perception of chaos his campaign’s main theme as he tries to return to the White House. AP VoteCast, a survey of the national electorate, found immigration was a top issue among voters in the Republican presidential primary’s initial states. An AP-NORC poll conducted last month found that 58% of Americans say immigration is an extremely or very important issue for them personally.  In contrast, Mexico’s presidential frontrunner, Claudia Sheinbaum, didn’t even include a mention of immigration when she announced 100 campaign commitments last month. When she came to the state where Monterrey sits — Nuevo Leon — in February she talked about security and the water supply. Her main opponent, Xochitl Galvez, visited the city last month and talked about her proposals to raise police salaries and combat gender violence.  But Monterrey, a three-hour drive from the Texas border, has increasingly become a critical waystation, even destination, for tens of thousands of migrants. Local authorities and international organizations have scrambled to find a place for the new arrivals.  Femsa, the owner of the ubiquitous convenience store chain Oxxo, has hired hundreds of migrants to work in its stores through a program with the United Nations refugee agency.  An annual survey of Nuevo Leon found last year that nearly nine in 10 residents noticed an increase in migrants and about seven in 10 felt that they should be provided with work. It’s not as if Mexicans aren’t divided over the issue: Those surveyed in Nuevo Leon were split over whether Mexico should admit more migrants or stop the flow.  The lack of clear political advantage could explain why politicians have stayed away from talking about immigration, said Luis Mendoza Ovando, a political analyst and columnist with the main local newspaper, El Norte.  Migrants settle in Colorado Colorado became a stop on the migrant trail even more recently than Monterrey. In late 2022, Venezuelans crossing into Texas from Mexico found that it costs less to take a bus from the border city of El Paso to Denver, Colorado, than many of the United States’ better-known metropolises. And Denver — a liberal, fast-growing city — offered migrants food and shelter.  Now, Denver’s mayor, Mike Johnston, reports that his city of 710,000 has received nearly 40,000 migrants, what he calls the highest number of new migrants per capita of any city in the United States. The largely Venezuelan population is mainly confined to Denver but has started to trickle into surrounding suburbs like Brighton, often selling flowers or window-washes at street corners.  Unlike in Monterrey, where many migrants found jobs with established employers, paperwork hassles and federal regulations have prevented most migrants in Denver from receiving authorization to work. Irregular labor such as yard work or housecleaning is their only way of making a living.  That’s led to a heavy burden on Denver’s coffers, and other cities in Colorado have watched in alarm. The two next largest after Denver, Aurora and Colorado Springs, both passed resolutions saying they don’t want large numbers of migrants sent to their cities.  The migrants in Denver say they feel increased pressure in the form of fewer city benefits and stepped up warnings from local police that they can't sell windshield washes, flowers or home-cooked food from streetcorners without a permit. The wary feelings towards them extend to the heavily Hispanic suburbs just north of Denver that comprise the state’s 8th congressional district, likely to be one of the most heated fights in this year’s battle for control of the House of Representatives.  State Representative Gabe Evans, one of the Republicans competing for the party’s nomination against Democratic Representative Yadira Caraveo, said that the district’s residents are fed up.  Evans’ grandfather immigrated from Mexico and earned his U.S. citizenship by serving in World War II.  “The citizenship for the Chavez family was paid for in blood,” Evans said. “Then you have people crossing the border and just getting handed things.”  Cynthia Moreno, a Democrat, said her father came from Mexico legally in the 1920s. Though she has personal sympathy for the migrants’ plight, she’s aghast they’re allowed to stay.  “If I lived in Denver, I’d be pissed right now,” Moreno said, calling immigration “the nation’s top priority.”  Lawmakers deadlocked on immigration That 1986 immigration bill was the last significant one passed by Congress, which has deadlocked for decades over whether to legalize additional generations of people living in the country illegally. In a sign of how the politics of immigration have shifted, that issue didn’t even come up in the bipartisan immigration bill that Trump killed earlier this year. Instead, the proposal focused on border enforcement.  The legislation never made it to the floor of the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. But Caraveo, who introduced her own package of immigration measures last month that included a proposal to legalize those brought to the country illegally as children, said she would have supported the bipartisan immigration bill anyway. 

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state department — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Riyadh from Monday through Tuesday to participate in regional talks on humanitarian assistance in Gaza, a post-war roadmap for the Palestinian territories, and stability and security in the Middle East.     "The secretary will discuss ongoing efforts to achieve a cease-fire in Gaza that secures the release of hostages and how it is Hamas that is standing between the Palestinian people and a cease-fire," according to the State Department.    The Gulf Cooperation Council, or GCC, a regional alliance of Arab countries bordering the Persian Gulf, will convene in Riyadh next week.     Blinken will participate in a GCC ministerial meeting to advance coordination on regional security.   Additionally, Saudi Arabia is hosting a special session of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh on Sunday and Monday. Expected participants include heads of state and top executives from both the public and private sectors. The meeting aims to tackle a broad range of global challenges, including humanitarian issues, climate change, and economic concerns.   Gaza, post-war roadmap   The humanitarian crisis in Gaza remains dire, despite an increase in daily aid and Israel beginning to utilize a northern crossing and Ashdod Port for humanitarian deliveries.   The United States is collaborating with partners to establish a maritime humanitarian corridor; however, these efforts are insufficient as the entire population of Gaza faces the risk of famine and malnutrition.      U.S. officials have stated that Washington is committed to advancing lasting peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians, including through practical steps aimed at establishing a Palestinian state that exists alongside Israel.    "The West Bank and Gaza must be reunified under the Palestinian Authority. A revitalized Palestinian Authority is essential to delivering results for the Palestinian people in both the West Bank and Gaza and establishing the conditions for stability," said Barbara Leaf, an sssistant secretary for Near Eastern Affairs at the State Department during a recent briefing.      Washington also has made clear that Hamas should not play a role in such governance.    However, analysts say there are many hurdles to the U.S. vision.     Michael Hanna, the program director at the International Crisis Group, noted that the current Israeli government has shown a "total rejection of the idea of a two-state solution." Moreover, "the physical reality has changed so dramatically since 1967 that it makes the possibility of a viable, contiguous Palestinian state almost an impossibility."     He said "there's no real assurance" that countries in the Middle East are particularly committed to post-war reconstruction in the Gaza Strip.     "It's very difficult for many of these regional parties to engage politically at the moment while the war rages on," he said.   Prospects for Saudi-Israel normalization  The Biden administration continues to work on a potential agreement that could lead to Saudi normalization with Israel, despite what some officials and analysts consider a remote possibility.    Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the two-state solution and the return of the Palestinian Authority to control Gaza, demands that are widely supported by the international community.     The Saudis have demanded, as a prerequisite, to see an Israeli commitment to the two-state solution.   "If Netanyahu's positions do not change, he will probably not be able to deliver normalization with Saudi Arabia. It may be that a U.S.-Saudi offer for such a normalization will be publicly made, so when Israelis go to the polls, they can take this option into account," Nimrod Goren, a senior fellow for Israeli affairs at the Middle East Institute, told VOA in an email.   Alleged rights violations being investigated Blinken's upcoming meetings in the Middle East come as the U.S. evaluates new information from the Israeli government to determine whether to blacklist certain Israeli military units.    These units are accused of violating the human rights of Palestinian civilians in the West Bank before the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel.   Critics have pointed out that the State Department's "slow rolling" in making its decision highlights the special treatment that Israel continues to receive. 

Istanbul — A three-ship flotilla planning to reach Gaza with humanitarian aid from Turkey was prevented from sailing by Guinea-Bissau authorities, which took down their country's flags from two ships, organizers said.  Just before the flotilla was set to sail from Turkey to Gaza on Friday with 5,000 tons of aid, a surprise inspection by the Guinea-Bissau International Ships Registry resulted in the removal of the flags from two of the Freedom Flotilla ships.  A press release by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition described the cancellation of the vessels' registry as a "blatantly political move," adding, "Without a flag, we cannot sail."  The organizers blamed Israel for applying pressure to prevent the flotilla. "It is obvious, and I think it is publicly known, that there has been close contact between Israel and the president of Guinea-Bissau," organizer and steering committee member Torstein Dahle told The Associated Press, without elaborating.  He said that hundreds of Turkish and international participants were disappointed by the cancellation. "It is very hard for us, because it takes time to procure a flag. It's a procedure that can't be done in a few days. ... But we're not giving up."  The Freedom Flotilla Coalition includes Turkish and international organizations, among them the IHH (Humanitarian Relief Foundation) and the Mavi Marmara Association from Turkey, which also organized an ill-fated 2010 flotilla.  On May 31, 2010, Israeli commandos stormed the Mavi Marmara in international waters, leading to an altercation that left nine people dead and dozens of activists wounded. On the Israeli side, seven soldiers were wounded by activists who attacked them with clubs, knives and pipes. 

ISLAMABAD — Germany's ambassador to Pakistan faced backlash on social media Saturday for asking pro-Palestinian demonstrators to leave a human rights conference instead of “shouting” and interrupting his speech. Alfred Grannas was speaking on civil rights at the live-streamed event in the eastern city of Lahore when a young man rose from his seat and spoke to the German diplomat. “Excuse me, Mr. ambassador. I am shocked by the audacity that you are here to talk about civil rights while your country is brutally abusing the people speaking for the rights of the Palestinians,” the protester said. The participants cheered and chanted “Free, Free Palestine" and "From the river to the sea" in response to the comments, with many of them rising from their seats in support of the man. “If you want to shout, go out; there, you can shout because shouting is not a discussion,” the German ambassador shouted back furiously in response to the questioning voice. “If you want to discuss it, come here. We’ll discuss it, but don’t shout. Shouting is not a behavior. Shame on you,” Grannas said. Organizers forced the protesters out of the conference to let the German diplomat complete his speech. Grannas’ video remarks quickly went viral, drawing criticism from Pakistanis, including activists, politicians and journalists. “The German ambassador shouting into the mic about shouting,” said Uzair Younus, a former nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center. “Not a great look for German diplomacy. These types of interruptions will be the norm, not the exception for Western countries’ representatives in the global south moving forward as they lecture folks about human rights,” Younus wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "Mr. ambassador, can you tell someone to 'get out' for expressing their opinion freely in your own country?” Ghulam Abbas Shah, a Pakistani broadcast journalist, asked on X. “German ambassador to Pakistan lecturing Pakistanis about free speech while German government bans any discussion on Gaza. Students who spoke up during this speech were dragged and beaten up. Shame!” Ammar Ali Jan, a Pakistani historian, activist, and politician, said on X. Some social media influencers urged the German diplomat to apologize to Pakistanis for his reaction. “This isn't the way a diplomatic relation is built with the masses of host country @GermanyinPAK," said journalist Sumaira Khan on X. “We are shocked to see your level of respect toward Pakistan and Pakistanis. ... You should apologize to our people I believe,” she wrote. Germany has firmly supported Israel since the Jewish state declared war on Gaza-based Hamas after the Iran-backed Palestinian militant group attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and leading to the capture of scores of hostages. Israel's counteroffensive has killed nearly 34,000 people in Gaza, two-thirds of them women and children, Gaza health officials say. Israel says the death toll includes thousands of Hamas fighters. The German government has not budged even as warnings of a genocide allegedly committed by Israeli forces have mounted. Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has no direct channels of communication with it over the issue of Palestinian statehood.

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LONDON — British troops may be tasked with delivering aid to Gaza from an offshore pier now under construction by the U.S. military, the BBC reported Saturday. U.K. government officials declined to comment on the report. According to the BBC, the British government is considering deploying troops to drive the trucks that will carry aid from the pier along a floating causeway to the shore. No decision has been made, and the proposal hasn’t yet reached Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the BBC reported, citing unidentified government sources. The report comes after a senior U.S. military official said on Thursday that there would be no American “boots on the ground” and that another nation would provide the personnel to drive the delivery trucks to the shore. The official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, declined to identify the third party. Britain is already providing logistical support for construction of the pier, including a Royal Navy ship that will house hundreds of U.S. soldiers and sailors working on the project. In addition, British military planners have been embedded at U.S. Central Command in Florida and in Cyprus, where aid will be screened before shipment to Gaza, for several weeks, the U.K. Ministry of Defense said on Friday. The U.K. Hydrographic Office has also shared analysis of the Gaza shoreline with the U.S. to aid in construction of the pier. “It is critical we establish more routes for vital humanitarian aid to reach the people of Gaza, and the U.K. continues to take a leading role in the delivery of support in coordination with the U.S. and our international allies and partners,” Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement. Development of the port and pier in Gaza comes as Israel faces widespread international criticism over the slow trickle of aid into the Palestinian territory, where the United Nations says at least a quarter of the population sits on the brink of starvation. The Israel-Hamas began with a Hamas-led terror attack into southern Israel on October 7, in which militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took some 250 people as hostages. Israel says the militants are still holding around 100 hostages and the remains of more than 30 others. Since then, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground offensive, according to the Health Ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

MAE SOT, THAILAND — Thailand is staying alert as conflict in Myanmar continues, according to Thai government officials who visited Thailand’s border with Myanmar this week. The comments come as renewed fighting continues between anti-junta ethnic groups and the military for control over Myawaddy, a crucial trade hub just across the border from Mae Sot. Myanmar has been in turmoil since a military coup in February 2021. The country has devolved into armed conflict with civilian, political and ethnic groups opposing junta rule. The conflict has shifted in the past year. The Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, has suffered a series of defeats to opposition groups. One of Myanmar’s oldest ethnic armed groups, the Karen National Union, or KNU, announced in April it had forced the surrender of military soldiers controlling Myawaddy. Thailand shares a 2,414-kilometer (1,500-mile) border with Myanmar and could be at risk of a border spillover should the conflict escalate. On Tuesday, Thai Foreign Minister Parnpree Bahiddha-Nukara visited Mae Sot. Parnpree first surveyed a Thai immigration crossing before holding a news conference with Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Defense Minister Sutin Klungsang, at Mae Sot International Airport. “We’ve been visiting people in the area to give them confidence that things are being handled well and to hear what issues they may have. For Thai sovereignty we are ready to protect,” Parnpree told reporters. Thailand’s officials appear calm about the situation, but Mae Sot is literally only a few kilometers across the border from Myanmar’s war. Armored military vehicles can be seen near the Thailand-Myanmar Friendship Bridge, with soldiers on patrol. Last week there were reports of bullets from the conflict entering Thai territory, and Thailand’s air force has been monitoring Myanmar’s aircraft for any possible incursions. “In the past there have been incidents including bullets and some sort of encroachment. That is the past in a different context. Today, we are following every issue closely,” Parnpree said. The reduced control of Myawaddy by Myanmar’s military is seen as a humiliating blow to the junta because billions of dollars’ worth of cross-border trade passes through the town each year. Footage found online that reportedly was posted by junta soldiers shows a Myanmar infantry battalion raising its flag at a recaptured base Wednesday morning. The KNU says its forces retreated after Myanmar’s Karen Border Guard Force — which is aligned with the junta — allowed military soldiers to reoccupy the base. Since then, the fighting has continued with the loud thuds and explosions of outgoing weapons fire heard several miles away in Mae Sot. Even though Myanmar’s post-coup conflict has spanned more than three years, Thailand’s approach to Myanmar changed only after Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin took office in the last year, according to one political analyst. “I think they want to be the broker; they want to promote dialogue, and the Srettha government wants to play a leading role moving forward,” Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political expert on Thailand, told VOA. “I think they have a broader foreign policy objective about rebalancing and repositioning Thailand as a leader for ASEAN on Myanmar,” he said, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “I think they are willing to do what it takes to [be in a] leading role and are open to options. Myanmar is a top priority for Thailand.” Thailand has taken on a bigger humanitarian role toward Myanmar in recent months and has agreed to build shelters to receive refugees escaping Myanmar. Parnpree will also lead a new special committee aimed at dealing with the crisis. Since the fight for Myawaddy erupted, thousands of people from Myanmar have fled across the 200-mile Moei River, which acts as a natural border separating Thailand and Myanmar. If Myawaddy remains an active war zone, Thailand could see more people fleeing across its border. At the Mae Tao clinic in Mae Sot, the medical staff are struggling to cope with the influx of injured patients. “Three hundred to 400 patients have come from Myawaddy,” Khun Wai, a medical officer at the clinic, told VOA. “Some have got war injuries from the fighting. We currently have 140 beds, so our doctors and medics are very busy right now. In Myanmar, many families have fled to Thailand.” Inside the facility, the conditions are grim. Patients are crammed in hallways, waiting for treatment. The sweltering heat adds to the discomfort. In one ward, a handful of young soldiers who fought on both sides of the war have physically succumbed to the brutalities of war. Several have had legs blown off from landmines; others have severe burns to their skin. One man has bandages covering the stitches in his chest after being shot. More than 60% of Myanmar’s territory is under the control of ethnic and opposition groups, according to the National Unity Government — the anti-junta shadow government — that has long said it must be involved in any new aid initiatives from Bangkok. Tun Aung Shwe, the NUG representative to Australia, spoke with VOA earlier this year. “To make a substantial impact, the Thai government's involvement should prioritize collaboration with the NUG and its allies. Without this engagement, despite good intentions, the efforts might not yield the desired positive outcome,” Shwe said. Thailand’s government has been criticized for liaising only with Myanmar’s military council in the past, but now Thailand’s foreign ministry said initial discussions have taken place to act as a mediator among the opposing groups. This hasn’t always been the case. Thailand endured its own military coup in 2014, which was led by then-army chief Prayuth Chan-ocha, who ruled Thailand for nine years. Military relations have changed since then, Thitinan said. “I think Srettha is more open to more stakeholders,” he said. “The Thai military [is] on the border now; the Royal Air Force [is] staying vigilant. ... This wasn’t happening under Prayuth’s time.”

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PHNOM PENH, Cambodia — Twenty soldiers were killed, and several others injured in an ammunition explosion at a base in the west of Cambodia on Saturday afternoon, Prime Minister Hun Manet said.  Hun Manet said in a Facebook post that he was “deeply shocked” when he received the news of the explosion at the base in Kampong Speu province.  It was not immediately clear what caused the explosion, and Hun Manet did not say in his post on Facebook.  He offered condolences to the soldiers’ families and promised the government would pay for their funerals and provide compensation to those killed and injured.  Pictures from the scene showed a destroyed building still smoldering and soldiers receiving treatment in a hospital.  Hun Manet, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, was promoted to be a four-star general shortly before he was elected to serve as prime minister, succeeding his autocratic father Hun Sen. 

Give us 5 minutes, and we'll give you the world. Around the clock, Voice of America keeps you in touch with the latest news. We bring you reports from our correspondents and interviews with newsmakers from across the world.